A free-hit for Fermanagh whether it’s Tyrone or Armagh

By Niall Gartland

REMEMBER the 2018 Ulster final? It wasn’t exactly game of the century, Donegal outclassing Fermanagh by 2-18 to 0-12, but it was still a memorable occasion and a novel pairing at Clones.

The Erne County overcame Armagh and Monaghan en route to the final and it’s hard enough to believe that, eight years on, they haven’t won a single game in the province in the meantime. Not one.

They should really have put their unwanted losing streak to bed this time last year. They gave it everything on the big day against Down and led by 0-21 to 0-14 eight minutes from time. Almost home and hosted. Almost but not quite.

A superb two-pointer from Down’s Daniel Guinness was followed by two late goals to seal a memorable comeback. Was it even a moral victory? From a Fermanagh perspective, it was much too gut-wrenching for that.

They were underdogs then and they’ll be even bigger underdogs come this year’s first round – regardless of the opposition. If it’s Armagh, they’ll be written off by all and sundry. And even though Tyrone are in a poor run of form, if they upset the odds at the BOX-It Athletic Grounds this Sunday, their credibility will soar overnight.

Perhaps it isn’t a bad place to be. It’s your classic free shot, and it’ll be interesting to see just what Fermanagh produce against one of Ulster’s heavy hitters.

Division Three didn’t quite go according to plan in the first year under the watchful eye of Declan Bonner. They finished dead last with only a single win to their name (a fine but ultimately inconsequential victory over Laois on their penultimate day out), though Bonner believes that in effect they were the architect of their own downfall.

Their wastefulness in front of the posts was regularly lamented in his post-match interviews, though statistically they saved their best two performances in that respect to the final two rounds, so it seems like they’re making some progress on that front.

While it would have been immaterial, they nearly picked up their second win in that final league match, a 2-15 to 0-20 defeat to Limerick. With Oisin Kelm making his first league start (brother Ultan is long-term injured), they were undone by a late two-pointer by Rory O’Brien.

Conor Love and Darragh McGurn top-scored that day with 0-4 each, while Garvan Jones is another steady pair of hands up front. McGurn banged in two goals in their solitary league win, over Laois, and is a strong, athletic player with the potential to cause damage against the bigger teams.

Derrygonnelly midfielder Stephen McGullion delivered what was described by Bonner as “his finest hour” in their win over Laois, while Sean McNally is a fine goalkeeper and Johnny Cassidy, Luke Flanagan, Ronan McCaffrey and Josh Largo-Ellis are dependable defensive operators.

That’s without mentioning stalwart Declan McCusker further up the pitch, whose commitment to the cause is unquestionable.

Realistically, the best they can probably hope for is a run in the Tailteann Cup. Last year they lost by seven to Kildare at Croke Park at the semi-final juncture, which turned out to be Kieran Donnelly’s last game in charge.

There’s enough quality in the same to go on a similar run, though for now they’ll aim to throw the kitchen sink at either Tyrone or Armagh in a couple of weeks’ time. A decent performance would do them the world of good.